Springfield Public Works crews step up attack on city potholes

SPRINGFIELD – The Department of Public Works announced Friday that it has three crews working five days a week, two shifts a day, to fill potholes with a hot patch

The city has already filled 3,076 potholes, using 53.2 tons of cold patch. Since the opening of the asphalt plants on Tuesday, the crews have filled 851 potholes with 9 tons of hot patch, as of Friday, the department said in a prepared release.

The department will continue to fill potholes based on public safety priority, starting with potholes on arterial routes and making its way to secondary and residential routes. This process will continue until all potholes are filled, the department stated.

As a matter of safety, the city is asking motorists to be aware crews working the street and to drive slower as they approach the work site and allow the crew the space they need to make the pothole repair.

In an effort to efficiently identify the locations of all potholes, residents are asked to report potholes to the city’s 3-1-1 Call Center by dialing 311 from any phone inside the city limits or (413) 736-3111.

A Springfield Public Works crew is shown filling a pothole on West Street, using cold patch in late February. The department has stepped up efforts with hot patches now that asphalt plants have opened.File photo by Mark M. Murray, The Republican